Rocker Sees Real Stars: Queen's Guitarist to Become Astrophysicist

By
The Associated Press
|
July 26, 2007 12:06pm ET

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Brian May performs during the VH1 Rock Honors concert in Las Vegas on in this May 25, 2006 file photo. Brian May is completing his doctorate in astrophysics, more than 30 years after he abandoned his studies to form the rock group Queen.

Credit: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Brian May is completing his
doctorate in astrophysics, more than 30 years after he abandoned his studies to
form the rock group Queen.

The
60-year-old guitarist and songwriter said he plans to submit his thesis, "Radial
Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud," to supervisors at Imperial College
London within the next two weeks.

May was an astrophysics student at ImperialCollege when Queen, which included Freddie Mercury and Roger
Taylor, was formed in 1970. He dropped his doctorate as the glam rock band
became successful.

Queen were one of Britain's biggest music groups in the
1970s, with hits including "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Will Rock
You."

After Mercury's
death in 1991, May recorded several solo albums, including 1998's "Another
World." But his interest in astronomy continued, and he co-wrote "Bang!
The Complete History of the Universe," which was published last year.

He was due to
finish carrying out astronomical observations at an observatory on the island of La Palma, in Spain's Canary Islands, on Tuesday, the observatory said.

May told the
British Broadcasting Corp. that he had always wanted to complete his degree.

"It was
unfinished business," he said. "I didn't want an honorary Ph.D. I
wanted the real thing that I worked for."